Coffee and Painkillers
by Bekquai
Summary: New and Improved as of 82203 It all started when Shuuichi made Yuki some unusual coffee... Characters are wildly, wontonly, and purposely OOC.


**Author's Note: UPDATED 8/21/03** Okay, so I was going through my older fics on my page and deleted the ones I no longer liked or had stopped working on. This one was full of fan-girl Engrish and a few typos, and just some other... suckage, if you will. But it was my first Gravi fic and I had an emotional attachment to it, so instead of deleting it I went through and fixed it. Reformatted it, too, not that anyone would really notice. Anwho, it's not nearly as embarrassing to have on my account now. Enjoy!

  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation.  
  
  
  
  
Shuichi, that loveable J-pop star, woke up when he rolled out of bed. Or rather, was shoved out of bed by a rather irate Yuki.  
  
"Ow," he said from the floor, sitting up and rubbing his back. "Yuuuukiiii, what was that for?"  
  
"You were kicking me in your sleep. Again," the cold author replied, stretching.  
  
"Well, sorry! I can't help it! I was dreaming, all right?"  
  
"Hmph. I've got bruises all down my shins because of you," the blond said pitilessly as he emerged from the blankets to put on his silk bathrobe. He glowered out of the corner of his eye at his young lover as he left the room. Shuuichi pouted after him. When he heard the bathroom door close and the shower taps turn on, he jumped to his feet.  
  
"Yuki is so meeeaan!" he cried, knowing Yuki wouldn't be able to hear. As he got dressed in a baggy tee-shirt and his most comfy pair of shorts, he continued to pout. Yuki was such a crab in the morning. Well, Yuki was a crab in general, but mornings seemed to make it worse. Would it kill him to be even just a _~little~_ cheerful?  
  
Still pouting a little because he was so good at it, Shuichi made his way to the kitchen to forage for a little breakfast. As he rummaged around in the cupboards, he spotted something. In the farthest corner of the top cupboard was a dust-covered packet. He sneezed when he grabbed it, the dust swirling around him. He lost his footing on the countertop, and fell to the linoleum. He leapt from the floor unphased, and brushed the remaining dust from the packet. Maybe it was fossilized ramen, and he'd get paid millions of yen by some museum -   
  
"Super Lucky Extra-Caffeinated Good Morning Coffee!!!!!" proclaimed the exuberant packaging in over-the-top English. Shuichi stared at it blankly for a moment, vaguely intimidated by the five exclamation points. Then an evil idea came to him and he became very devious, in a cute, Super-Deformed sort of way. He jumped onto the countertop and found Yuki's coffeemaker. Just as he began to chuckle deviously, his conscience appeared on his shoulder.  
  
"Oh no. You couldn't be that mean, could you?" the little Shu-Angel said, fluttering his wings. "Yuki wouldn't be happy if he found out."  
  
"That's true," Shuichi said, chastened, and was about to put the packet back when his mischievous side appeared on his other shoulder.  
  
"But you really, really _~want~_ to," said the little Shu-Demon tempted. "It would mean that Yuki would be cheerful for once. He might even _~like~_ it! You're doing him a _~favor~!"_  
  
"Yeah!" Shuichi agreed, nodding energetically. His conscience was knocked off-balance in the process, and the tiny being had to hang onto Shuichi's ear to keep from falling off.  
  
Shu-Demon decided to take advantage of this and and flew on his cute little bat-wings to Shu-Angel's shoulder. He grabbed the conscience's halo and yanked it down so it pinned the angel's arms and wings  
  
"Shuichi! At least _~ask~_ Yuki fir-!" cried Shu-Angel desperately, but Shu-Demon clapped a hand over his mouth to prevent him from finishing.  
  
"Go ahead, partner. This'll be really fun!" Shu-Demon urged, then vanished with Shu-Angel in tow.  
  
Shuichi needed no further encouragement. He dumped the contents of the packet unceremoniously into a filter, and placed it in the coffeemaker. When Yuki came into the kitchen, rubbing his hair with a towel and still clad only in his bathrobe, a nearly-full pot of coffee was brewed and smelled delicious. Shuichi sat at the table, wolfing down a bowl of corn-flakes with about a cup of sugar added. He beamed innocently.  
  
"Sorry for kicking you, Yuki," he said sweetly. "See, I made coffee for you as an apology."  
  
"Hm," said Yuki noncommitally, draping to towel on the back of a chair. He got his his favorite mug out of the dishwasher, turned off the coffeemaker, and poured himself a cup. He was too busy watching Shuichi suspiciously to notice how thick and black the coffee was. Shuichi looked on eagerly, which made him doubly suspicious. There was something entirely too interested in the teenager's face for Yuki's liking. The author brought the cup to his lips and took a cautious sip. His face turned red and he swallowed painfully. Then he bent over, coughing fit to hack up a lung and dropping his mug in the process. He knew his suspicion was well-founded when the coffee refused to spill. He picked the mug up by the handle and held it at arm's length by thumb and forefinger.  
  
"What the _~hell~_ did you do to my coffee?" he sputtered, slightly SD with anger as he stared at his mug as if the sludge would leap out and bite his nose off.  
  
"Why? Don't you like it? I worked so hard to get just the right ratio of coffee grounds to water! Oh, you hate it, don't you?" babbled the pink-haired teenager, and he went on and on. He looked at Yuki with big, round, indigo eyes, tears brimming up and threatening to spill over the thick black lashes.  
  
Yuki sighed. Much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't refuse Shuichi's tearful pleading look. And, as disgusting as this concoction was, he _~did~_ need his morning coffee to function. Steeling himself and knowing he'd probably die of indigestion, he got a spatula and scraped some of the sludge into his mouth. He worked it a bit, swallowed, then gasped for breath. Resisting the urge to retch, he sat heavily in the chair opposite his lover.  
  
Shuichi's tearful look was replaced by one of adoration. "You liked it?"   
  
"Of course not, idiot. That was the most repulsive thing I've ever eaten. I've never had to _~chew~_ my coffee before," he said, stealing Shuichi's spoon and taking a bite of the sugared-up cereal to get the flavor out of his mouth.  
  
"Then why did you eat it?" Shuichi asked, going chibi and bouncing on the table. "Huh? Huh huh huh?"  
  
Yuki nerve-throbbed and thwapped him on the head. "Knock that off."  
  
"Ow!" he said, falling onto the floor. He got up with a hurt-puppy look. "Fine! If you're going to be like that, I'm just going to leave for work."  
  
Yuki followed his lover with his eyes as the slim boy exited the apartment, and sighed again when he heard the door slam. That kid really was a handful. He didn't know how he put up with him. Or why he always was thinking about him. Or why he always felt... peaceful around him...  
  
Well, most of the time, anyway, he thought, smacking his lips at the foul taste that still lingered in his mouth. He helped himself to what was left of Shuichi's breakfast to remedy this, though his teeth hurt from the sweetness of it, and then went back to the bedroom to get dressed. He donned a pair of khakis and a blue button-down shirt, finishing by placing his glasses on his face. Yes, he looked very much the respectable author this morning.  
  
Now, to work. He shuffled over to his computer and sat down. With his deadline hanging over his head, he needed to get a ~lot~ of work done today. The novel was only on chapter twelve. He grimaced as he lit a cigarette and then began to type.  
  
  
  
  
  
Shuichi rubbed his head, which had a small lump where Yuki had bopped him, and whined to himself.  
  
"I can't believe the coffee didn't work! I was so sure it would," he muttered as he jogged. "And now I've got a headache, too! What a great way to start the morning."  
  
His step slowed as he passed a drug store. He checked his shorts and was pleased to find yen in them. He grinned, thankful that he never cleaned out his pockets, and went into the store. He homed in on the painkiller aisle quickly and perused the shelves. He was daunted to see so many different kinds of aspirin, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Advil, and other more esoteric sounding over-the-counter remedies. As he was trying to decide between two bottles, his watch beeped.  
  
"Huh?" he said, looking at the time. It was half-past eight. His eyes widened in horror. He was late to work. Suguru and Sakano-san would have fits. Not to mention K-san and his guns.  
  
He dropped one bottle, clutching the other tightly in his hand, and buzzed by the clerk, throwing a few bills at her.  
  
"Keep the change!" he shouted and ran out the door.  
  
He arrived at the recording studio five minutes later, very winded. He burst into the booth, startling Hiro and Suguru, who were playing cards on the keyboard.   
  
"La _*pantpant*_ Li _*wheeze*_ Ho!" he caroled weakly, bending at the waist and putting his hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath.   
  
"SHINDOU-KUN!" shrieked Sakano-san from behind the glass, waving his arms. "Where have you BEEN?"  
  
"I'm really terribly sorry!" Shuichi panted, standing straight again to look at his manager. "I had to -uh, s-save a - rabbit - "  
  
He stopped in the middle of his excuse when he felt something cold and hard pressed against his temple. He facefaulted and glanced sidelong at the band's manager. K-san smiled wickedly and nudged the gun a little harder against Shuichi's head.  
  
"NO EXCUSES!" the blond American boomed in a moment of Random English. He slipped back into Japanese to say, "You've kept us waiting long enough. Now, you have a song to sing, I believe."  
  
K-san removed the 9mm and put it pack in his shoulder holster. Shuuichi nearly fainted from relief. Suguru and Hiro put the cards away and got in their positions while Shuichi wrestled the painkiller bottle open and popped three pills into his mouth. He swallowed quickly and put the bottle back in his pocket. He smiled apologetically at his bandmates.  
  
"Sorry guys. It won't happen again, I swear," he said.  
  
Hiro quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing. Suguru looked supremely skeptical.   
  
"I'll believe that when I see it," the keyboardist said.  
  
"Meanie!" Shuichi declared with a masterful pout. It was his best so far this morning. Everyone just rolled their eyes.  
  
"Let's take it from the top," Hiro said in a businesslike way. "Fujisaki-kun, start us off."  
  
  
  
  
  
Yuki noticed something bizarre going on at about nine o'clock. He was typing a good deal faster than usual, which was made even more odd because his long and graceful fingers now seemed to have trouble reaching all the keys. At nine-fifteen, he decided that 165 words per minute would probably give him carpal tunnel syndrome if he kept it up for any length of time. So, to save his hands, he stopped and stretched, then hopped off his chair.  
  
Frowning, he looked back at his chair. Something wasn't right about his apartment. His brows knit together as he tried to think of what it was that was bothering him, but then he forgot what he was supposed to be thinking about. Frustrated with his suddenly short attention span, he went out into the living room and turned on the T.V. in the hopes that after a little comfortable vegetation he'd be ready to spring back into action.  
  
" - royal infant is a girl. And in other news - "  
  
" - oh, Kenichi! Don't leave me for Keiko's sister-in-la - "  
  
" - you just slice the squid along the ventral side and stuff the seaweed insi - "  
  
"_*BOOOOM!!*_"  
  
This last was accompanied by a bright strobing flash of pink light. Yuki froze in his channel surfing, mesmerized. The light faded to reveal a pink, rat-like, cutesy anime animal with a lightning-shaped tail.  
  
"Baimi!" it said, bouncing up and down in place with a noise like "poing."  
  
"I choose YOU, Baiminao!" a preteen boy declared as the thing poinged onto his shoulder.  
  
"Soot! Look out behind you!" cried a preteen girl.  
  
Just before the new danger was revealed, the show cut to a commercial. Yuki shook himself. He was not so mentally degenerated that he would actually watch a kids' anime. He continued flipping... and wound right back at the same channel just in time to catch the program identification.  
  
"And now back to Wallemon: Wallet Monsters!" declared an announcer. {*}  
  
"....ooooh...." murmured Yuki.  
  
  
  
  
  
As the last strains of the song faded, Shuichi had to blink tears back. Hiro's guitar and Suguru's synthesizer were so beautiful. Cheering from behind the glass snapped him from his reverie. He opened his eyes just in time to see his friends approaching before they pounced on him.  
  
"We did it!" Hiro exclaimed. "We finally finished the track! That was terrific, Shuichi!"  
  
"Sorry I doubted you, Shindou-kun," Suguru said. "We might get to go home early today, if you keep up sining like that!"  
  
"...." said Shuichi, feeling reticent all of a sudden. He shrugged off their grips and stalked out of the room, unmindful of the shocked silence that he left in his wake.   
  
"Hmph. What do they know?" he whispered to himself, walking down the hall to the break room. He felt an inexplicable sense of self-loathing and anger at... well, everything.  
  
"Shuichi!" called Hiro, running after him. The band leader didn't stop, but Hiro caught up with him and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Shuuichi! What's the deal?"  
  
Shuichi stopped suddenly. Hiro didn't, however, and careened into the smaller boy. They fell to the ground in a tangle. Utterly mortified and upset - instead of amused as he would have been any other time - Shuichi hurriedly broke free and stood.  
  
"What the _~hell~_ do you think you're doing?!" he shouted, then spun away, fuming at Hiro for being so rude and nosy, and at the same time hating himself for being so cruel to his friend. He finally made it to the break room, slammed the door, and locked it.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hiro sat up, rubbing his head and frowning in confusion. "Um... what...?"  
  
Suguru appeared by his side and offered a hand up. Gratefully, Hiro took it.   
  
"What's his problem today?" the dark-green-haired boy asked as Hiro brushed himself off.  
  
"I have no clue. He's never been like this before," Hiro replied. He gazed in consternation at the door. Did Yuki have something to do with this change in personality? If so, a certain blond bombshell would have a lot of explaining to do.  
  
"Hiro-kun," Suguru began, drawing his attention away from the door. The younger boy crouched on the floor and held a plastic bottle in his hand. "Is this yours?"  
  
"No. What is it?" Hiro asked, kneeling beside him.  
  
"Painkillers."  
  
"Let me see."  
  
Obediently, Suguru handed the bottle over. Hiro examined it. Nothing about it seemed extraordinary, until he read the warnings label.  
  
"Uh-oh..."  
  
  
  
  
  
_WARNING: This product contains ingredients that may cause angst. Symptoms include antisocial behavior, brooding, mood swings, and incomprehensible rants having to do with worthiness, justice, love, war, death, and eternal souls. If any of these symptoms appear, discontinue use immediately and ingest liberal amounts of pocky. If symptoms persist, call your local Angst Victim Rehabilitation Center._  
  
  
  
  
"Gotta buy 'em all!" sang Yuki, now very chibified. He grinned as he bounced around his apartment. The thought didn't even cross his mind - most likely because _~no~_ thoughts were crossing his mind - that he was acting like a sugar-high Shuichi. He was quite enjoying himself anyway. There was no way he was going to write boring old romances _~now~_. He was going to be a Wallemon trainer!  
  
Just then the phone rang. Yuki paused in his bouncing and peered wide-eyed at his phone. He crept over to it, watching it carefully. Just as he peeked his eyes up over the edge of the table, it rang again. He jumped back with a startled yelp. Again the phone shrilled, and finally Yuki mustered the courage to pick it up.  
  
"Hello~~!" he caroled into the receiver, fear completely forgotten.  
  
"Eh... um... is Yuki-san there?" a confused voice stammered.  
  
"This is!"  
  
"Yuki-san?"  
  
"Yes~~!"  
  
"...Really?"  
  
"Really!"  
  
"_Really_ really?"  
  
"REALLY really~~!" Yuki declared forcefully, smiling from ear to ear. "You're silly!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Hiro sweatdropped and put a hand over the mouthpiece.  
  
"What's wrong?" Suguru asked, noticing the tried expression on his face.  
  
"He's gone nuts. He sounds... hyper."  
  
The keybordist blinked, trying to reconcile the word "hyper" to what he knew of Yuki Eiri. A look of horror fixed itself to his youthful face.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hello? Are you still there?" Yuki asked after the phone had been silent for a while.   
  
"Ah... Yuki-san, did Shuichi have any medication this morning? Or last night?" the phone asked.  
  
"Nope! He made me some coffee, though! Wasn't that so _~sweet~_?" Yuki asked, little hearts and Shu-chibis floating around his head. Sparkles flickered into existence.  
  
"...Yeah," the phone agreed. "You're sure he didn't take your headache medication?"  
  
"Of course I'm sure, idiot!" Yuki snapped in cute, SD anger.  
  
"Oh. Well. Er...thank you for your time, Yuki-san," the phone said.  
  
"You're welcome~~!" Yuki said and hung up the phone.  
  
But instead of going back to watch more Wallemon, Yuki bounced into the kitchen to check the time. He'd almost forgotten about his Shuichi. Now that he thought about him, he _~really~_ missed him. He pouted as he glanced at the clock. It was almost noon, which meant Shuichi would be hungry.   
  
"I know! I'll go visit him at work and take him on a picnic in the park where we met! It'll be so romantic!" Yuki decided aloud, and began to toss the contents of his refrigerator into a picnic basket.  
  
  
  
  
  
Seguchi Tohma noticed the crowd outside the break room door as he was walking to his office. His fair eyebrows raised slightly and he altered his course. People stepped aside for the president of NG, and soon he was standing next to the walking anxiety attack that was Sakano-san.  
  
"Ne, what's up?" he asked casually.  
  
"It's Shindou-kun. He's holed up in the break room and won't - President!" Sakano broke off as he finally turned to look at who he was talking to. Tohma grinned at him.  
  
"What seems to be the trouble?" he asked.  
  
"N-n-n-nothing... just - er - " Sakano groped for something to say, his eyes beginning to water.  
  
"Shindou-kun is having side-effects from these," K said, having noticed the producer's dilemma. He handed Tohma the bottle of pain-killers. The effeminate man read the label, a serious expression forming.  
  
"Who gave these to him?"  
  
"We don't know. We do know that he is in there alone, with a lot of sharp objects. Nakano-kun _~says~_ Shindou-kun wouldn't commit suicide, but - " K stopped as Shuichi's voice rose from behind the door.  
  
"-and I'm not _~worthy~_ of all the fame and honor and adoration! I am so utterly worthless, so devoid of any redeeming characteristics. How can anyone care for me? I've failed you all! I'm so sorry, everyone!" he shouted, then subsided.  
  
"I see what you mean," Tohma said, frowning at the door as Hiro and Suguru began debating through the barrier. He turned to K. "Can't you shoot the lock off and go in?"  
  
Remorsefully, K shook his head. "After the last time, you ordered bulletproof doors, remember?"  
  
"Oh. I'll have to get that changed, then," Tohma said. "In the mean time, we'll just have to wait until this wears off, I guess."  
  
There was a tug at the fur trim of his jacket. He looked down and facefaulted.  
  
"Wait until what wears off?" demanded an upset SD Yuki. He carried a huge picnic basket that overflowed with food.  
  
"E-Eiri-san!" Tohma exclaimed. "What happened to you?"  
  
"Nothing. Now tell me what's going on," Yuki commanded with an imperious pout as he stamped his little foot. "And then tell me where Shuichi is so I can take him on our Romantic Picnic For Two."  
  
"Yuki! I'm sorry! I'm not worthy of your love!" Shuichi shouted in anguish from inside the break room.  
  
Yuki blinked, turning to look at the door in puzzlement. "Shu-chan?"  
  
"Er- Eiri-san - " Tohma began in warning, but didn't get any farther. Even SD, Yuki's glare was powerful.  
  
"Shuichi~~!!" he called, shoving shell-shocked Bad Luck members aside. Hiro and Suguru both stared openly with mouths agape. Undaunted, Yuki went on, "Wheeere aaaare yooouuu~~?"  
  
"Y-Yuki?" Shuichi responded hesitantly.  
  
"Uh-huh!" Sparkle sparkle.   
  
"What are ~you~ doing here?" Shuichi asked rudely.  
  
"I brought you lunch! Wanna go to the park and eat it with me?" Yuki offered, sparkling and grinning.  
  
"Go home, idiot," came the cold response. "I'm busy."  
  
Yuki's big eyes filled with tears. "Shuichi?"  
  
"Go away!"  
  
"You're so meeeeaaaaannn!" Yuki cried, and dashed away through the crowd, spilling a bunch of grapes and several mini-muffins from his picnic basket.  
  
After a moment of shocked silence, Suguru spoke up.  
  
"You gotta see the irony here."  
  
Everyone glared at him. He sweatdropped.  
  
  
  
  
  
Shuichi stared out at the sunlit city, arms crossed broodingly over his chest. Despair gnawed at his heart. Why had he been so cruel and cold to Yuki? It wasn't fair of him to do so, after all he'd begged and pleaded for Yuki's attention. What was wrong with him today?  
  
Maybe it all was catching up to him, all his fears and faults surging through him at once. Perhaps they'd been blocked by the joy of finally realizing his dream of becoming famous like Ryuichi Sakuma, or maybe the elation of finding his lover. Now that the shine of each had been dulled a bit, his anxieties swelled up larger than ever before. He felt so vulnerable now.  
  
So he pushed them away. Hiro, Yuki, Suguru, K, everyone. They would only hurt him if he let them get too close. They would see through him to what he was really like inside, just a scared teenager with a microphone to hide behind. A scared teenager who had no real talent like Suguru or Yuki and no brains like Hiro. He was so utterly worthless. But if they didn't know him, they couldn't learn to despise him for his weaknesses...  
  
His thoughts continued in this vein for some time. Angsty sparkles began to float around him as he continued his depressing musings. He closed his eyes to he wouldn't get annoyed with them and lose his train of thought.  
  
Of course, as he did this, a window-washer's scaffold lowered in front of the window. Yuki stopped it and pressed his face against the glass to look inside. Then he grinned, shouting Shuichi's name. Unfortunately, the window was soundproof, so it had no effect. He rapped on the pane, but this too did not carry through. Yuki's expression darkened and he tensed.  
  
The next thing Shuichi knew, the glass was flying in and he was being glomped around the neck by a ball of blond energy.  
  
"SHUUUUIIIIIIICHIIIIIIII~~~!"  
  
They fell to the floor, miraculously not landing on any glass fragments. Yuki cuddled unashamedly up to Shuichi's dazed form as the pink-haired boy tried valiantly to breathe.  
  
"Come on, Shu-chan! Let's go to the park!" Yuki exclaimed, hefting the unresisting boy out the window and onto the scaffold. He pulled a lever on the control panel. They dropped dangerously fast towards the ground. Shuichi had enough presence of mind to cling madly to the railings as they plummeted, facefaulting all the way down. Yuki, unperturbed through the whole fall, leisurely reached over and braked. They came to a screeching halt a few inches off the ground. Shuichi stared, eyes wide as dinner plates.  
  
Yuki, unaware that shock was setting in, pried his boyfriend from the scaffold and picked up the monstrous basket of food. Then he set off for the park, dragging the singer behind.  
  
  
  
  
  
The locksmith arrived two hours after Shuichi had first locked himself in. The burly technician examined the lock and made "tsk" sounds under his breath. Tohma, K, Sakano-san, Suguru, and Hiro all looked on impatiently.   
  
"Yep," the man said slowly, adjusting his tool belt decisively. "That thar is one locked door."  
  
"Yes, we know," Tohma began, annoyance creeping into his usually sooth tone. "Can you unlock it?"  
  
"Weeellll, y'see, things like this take time. I need t' call my boys down at the office an' see if we got the tools in stock, and then I need t' see if we're kwally-fied fer this sort a work, and then - " the man broke off with a sound like "eep."  
  
K grinned, pressing the 9mm harder into the man's huge beer-gut.   
  
"If I were you, I'd open the door _~now~_," K advised.  
  
The door was unlocked in five seconds.  
  
"Thank you," Tohma said politely. "And don't mention the gun in your bill, or I'll buy out your company and fire you."  
  
The locksmith nodded vigorously, then ran down the hall, skidding as he went around the corner. The group watched him go, then turned to face each other.  
  
"Let me go in first," Hiro said to the other NG staff. "I'm his best friend, after all."  
  
"Okay, have at," K agreed, opening the door and waving the red-haired youth in.  
  
"Shuichi - ..." the guitarist stopped short at the sight that greeted him. Broken window, no Shuichi.  
  
"What is it, Nakano-kun?" Sakano-san asked worriedly, pushing past K to get into the room. He stopped as well. Unfortunately, this time it was Suguru, who'd followed him, who continued forward. He ran into Sakano, who careened into Hiro. They all lost their balance and fell to the floor in an ungainly heap. Matters were then made worse because as the band members tried to get up, Sakano went into whirlwind mode, taking Suguru and Hiro with him.  
  
"WAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! SHIIIINDOOOUUUU-KUUUUUN!!"  
  
The blonds watched more calmly from the doorway.   
  
"He didn't jump," Tohma observed. "All the glass is inside the room. The window was broken from outside."  
  
"True. Also, if Shindou-kun had jumped, someone would have notified us that his mangled body was lying on the pavement outside," K said, paused, then burst into laughter. Tohma sweatdropped.  
  
"Still, it doesn't explain where Shindou-san went," the president said.  
  
"Oh? Where's Yuki, then?" K asked, his mirth transformed instantly into smug knowing.  
  
"Ah, yes. Eiri-san," Tohma said, mostly to himself. "I'd forgotten."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Shuichi, have some more pocky! It's your favorite!" Yuki urged, still SD but becoming more human again. He was nearly back to his normal height, if not his normal disposition.  
  
"No, I'm full," Shuichi said politely, and refrained from adding 'idiot' to the end of his sentence. "You eat it."  
  
"Okay!" Yuki agreed readily, snarfing the last sticks of pocky. Then he kicked the now-empty basket off the blanket and flopped down on his back, arms behind his head. He smiled dreamily in the afternoon sunlight. Shuichi watched him with narrowed eyes.  
  
"So cute," he murmured, too low for Yuki to hear. He reached out and brushed Yuki's bangs away from his face, his fingertips lingering on the blond man's cheek.  
  
"Shuichi?" Yuki asked, blinking innocently.  
  
"Shut up," the pink-haired boy commanded, then leaned over and gave Yuki a firm kiss.  
  
When they broke apart, Yuki "hmm"ed happily and Shuichi laid down beside him. They edged closer to one another, arms wrapping around waists.  
  
"Why do you put up with me?" Shuichi asked.  
  
"'Cos I love you," Yuki said simply, then chuckled - not giggled - and added, "Idiot."  
  
For the first time since he'd taken the painkillers that morning, Shuuichi smiled. And giggled.  
  
  
  
  
END  
  
  
  
  
{*} - Okay, in case no one caught on, this is a blatant mockery of Pokemon. I loathe that show almost as much as I loathe *Nsync. Baiminao sounds like "Buy me now!" And instead of Ash, his name is Soot. Get it? I don't think I even need to explain the Wallemon thing. If you don't get that on your own, I can't help you.  
  



End file.
